£3.2m contract will deliver mission planning system for wildcat helicopters

16 Feb 20152015-02-16T04:00:00+01:00

A £3.2m contract has been awarded by the UK’s Ministry of Defence to BAE Systems to equip the AW159 Wildcat helicopter fleet with a bespoke mission planning system.

The system will be used by Royal Navy and Army Air Corps pilots who fly the Wildcat.

Combined Arms Gateway Environment (CAGE) is a unique system developed by BAE Systems that can be used on multiple platforms to plan, brief, rehearse, execute and debrief a mission using the latest situational awareness and planning support information.

This allows aircrew to be more reactive and make informed decisions in the air.

The Wildcat helicopter is the second UK aircraft to use CAGE which is in use with the Navy on the Merlin II and it is planned to be developed on Wildcat as well as the other aircraft in the UK helicopter fleet.

CAGE is scheduled to be in frontline service on Wildcat for the middle of February 2015 having passed a series of reviews with the Ministry of Defence and the helicopter’s manufacturer, AgustaWestland.

Dave Rawlinson, of BAE Systems Military Air and Information, said: “CAGE allows pilots to do lot of detailed planning in advance which would otherwise have to be done in the air.

“On take-off pilots know that they are flying with a plan which is not only achievable but tactically astute.